Music Direct is taking pre-orders for new reissues of blue note albums and cd's. Albums by Ron McMaster and CD's by R V Gelder. You get an album, plus a CD for $21.95. Does anyone know anything about them, sound quality wise, or should I keep looking for older copies? ...Thanks

I first heard about this new LP reissue series from Ron McMaster a few weeks ago when I wrote to ask him about Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" analog master tape. Ron told me that he actually had that analog master tape on his station because he was using it to cut a new vinyl version.

The upcoming Blue Note LPs are definitely being cut with analog masters as the source. This I know for fact.

Other genre LPs - no clue. I have no connections into Capitol's non-Jazz releases."

Here is Steves' response:

"My friend, please, no offense here. But putting an analog tape up on a work station means nothing. What is the preview head seeing? If it's a Lexicon digital delay than the record is being cut in 16 bit digital. See? I have NO DOUBT that Ron uses analog Blue Note masters to cut with. Heck, we sent THE SIDEWINDER over to him last week..

But when I was there the analog tape was converted to digital so the preview head could get the delay and it never goes back to analog after that.

That was the only way they could cut as little as two years ago. If they have gone back to using an analog preview head, great, but I'm not hearing this in the descriptions of the system that I am reading here.

Let's be sure we get our terminology correct.

This is the main reason that audiophile labels don't use Capitol Disk Mastering! They use Grundman and AcousTech, two studios that still maintain an ALL ANALOG signal path to the cutter head.

Hopefully that has changed recently and Capitol has gone retro again... If not, I don't see the point in releasing records cut in 16 bit digital, unless they improve upon the released CD's (which I guess they are doing).__________________SH